For fans of casual iOS games, a tap-a-lot puzzler that both challenges one’s thinking skills and allows them to take their time may just be the jackpot. Having said that, it takes more than a good concept to create a great game; so let’s see if Tiny Space Adventure hits the rest of the checklist as well.

As I first opened the game it pretty much went straight to the little comic book style intro, after which I got to start playing – no overly crowded menu items and screens or any other sort of pesky interruption (score one for a promising casual app). While players shouldn’t expect any kind of sophisticated futuristic soundtrack, the OST here does the trick of setting the mood for an alluring, mysterious space puzzler quite well (less really is more, I suppose).

Now on to the gameplay: Players assume the role of a little astronaut who’s been lost on an unknown planet, and hence gets set on an unexpected and perilous adventure. Everything in the game is controlled by tapping: tap on the screen to command the hero to move, tap to interact with the environment and go through doors, tap to collect hidden items, tap-tap-tap all the way.

While it’s great that the controls are that simple, they do seem a bit imprecise at times. Perhaps that also has something to do with the fact that I tend to tap using my thumb, but for instance, if I tap one of the dodgy aliens a bit too late or don’t nail him with great precision my little astronaut sometimes just decides to move in the direction I tapped instead (which I don’t want – poor guy usually gets zapped because of that). Sometimes that really can become a bit of a nuisance. It's not something a player looks for in a casual game.

The animations are smooth, though I personally thought the artwork is a bit too plain and perhaps could profit for a touch of extra detail. Still, those are the kind of small issues that will rarely have a real effect on one’s experience. Tiny Space Adventure also has an interesting approach to the whole puzzle genre. Every level is packed with a good amount of identical doors and no way of knowing which is connected to what before going through them at least once. This, of course, means there will be a good amount of retrying every level, but that’s actually the point. Players will have to go through the same level several times and rely on their memory in order to figure out which doors point in the right direction and which don’t.

Review disclosure: note that the product reviewed on this page may have been provided to us by the developer for the purposes of this review. Note that if the developer provides the product or not, this does not impact the review or score.